Orhan Pamuk on trial

The trial of Turkish author Orhan Pamuk starts tomorrow. Two German-language papers, Austria's Die Presse and the German FAZ both print translations of the Pamuk's commentary published originally in the New Yorker. Pamuk reflects on his situation before his trial, speaking with crystal clarity about the Turkish genocide of the Armenians, describing his country's mixed feelings towards Europe (and vice versa) and extending his reflections to a larger group of countries on the rise. "In recent years, we have witnessed the astounding economic rise of India and China, and in both these countries we have also seen the rapid expansion of the middle class, though I do not think we shall truly understand the people who have been part of this transformation until we have seen their private lives reflected in novels. Whatever you call these new elites—the non-Western bourgeoisie or the enriched bureaucracy—they, like the Westernizing elites in my own country, feel compelled to follow two separate and seemingly incompatible lines of action in order to legitimize their newly acquired wealth and power. First, they must justify the rapid rise in their fortunes by assuming the idiom and the attitudes of the West; having created a demand for such knowledge, they then take it upon themselves to tutor their countrymen. When the people berate them for ignoring tradition, they respond by brandishing a virulent and intolerant nationalism."


Die Tageszeitung, 15.12.2005

"It looks as if anti-Semitism is standing before a new evil dawn", fears Philipp Gessler after two Berlin conferences on the subject (more here and here) and on the recent utterances of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "The diabolic strength and the future danger of this anti-Semitic construct lies in the fact that it functions on a transnational, trans-ethnic and trans-religious basis and delivers a concrete explanation of the world in which the Jews serve as global enemies and the ideal scapegoats for everything. The experts are widely agreed on one thing: until now there has been very little co-operation between anti-Semitic groups around the world, aside from a bit of Internet exchange and the odd meeting – because the ideological rifts between anti-Semitic groups are still too deep. But the danger lies in the 'modern' or 'new' anti-Semitic delusional idea which could seem attractive because it offers a way to cross borders between East and West, Orient and Occident."


Die Welt, 15.12.2005

The Iraqi writer and architect Kanan Makiya fears that today's elections have little chance of solving his country's problems. On the contrary. He is highly distrustful of a parliament "that has a free reign with its executive powers": "Although the parliament looks like a democratic institution, it is actually nothing more than an assembly of ethnic and sectarian voting groups. If we have learnt anything from the experiences of the interim government it is that the leaders of these groups have the real hold on power in Iraq and that they exercise this power mainly through insider dealings and back room diplomacy. And because this power structure also votes for the President and Prime Minister and can just as quickly get rid of them again though a simple majority, it means there are no restraints on the tyranny of the majority."


Die Zeit, 15.12.2005

Thomas Kleine Brockhoff talks to American Harvard law professor, Alan Dershowitz who believes torture should be used only in exceptional circumstances: "The question is whether torture is being used in a controlled and responsible political environment, openly and according to the law? Or whether it's all happening under the cover of darkness, which would be the worst possible of all worlds. That would be the hypocritical American model where the President claims we would never and under no circumstances resort to torture whilst the Vice President adds with a wink that we may have to cross over to the dark side. The message being sent to the those in charge is: You may use torture but we don't want to know about it. Had there been a formal rule on torture, it would never have come to Abu Ghraib nor to the situation we have now. There would be a clear signal: The President alone decides if and when exceptional circumstances occur. If this is the case he signs a special order."

Hanno Rauterberg examines the liberated art world where works by the old and modern masters no longer fetch as much as those by contemporary artists. "Often the market price and the real artistic value of the work are leagues apart. But it's never been as extreme as now, so detached from reality. The realm of aesthetics is becoming unabashedly interested in money. This has become the driving, all-consuming force in the market. And whether we like it or not that changes our image of art. It changes art itself. It all began in 1998. Until then auction houses only sold art that had been around for more than ten years. Then Gerard Goodrow came along. He filled Christies with works of art fresh from the studios and made a killing. 'We gave birth to a monster,' says Goodrow today."


Süddeutsche Zeitung, 15.12.2005

"Hedonism replaces cool elegance, versatiltiy replaces monotonous perfection". After her cocain troubles Holger Liebs celebrates Kate Moss' return to the cover of French Vogue as the 'Scandaleuse Beaute'. "Nearly all her photographers say that they don't give her all these qualities, she possesses them all herself. The fashion world needs a regular dosage of mould-breaking outlaws and rebels like Moss to replenish its insatiable appetite for originality, for the next new thing. The system cannot survive without its aesthetic reserves: bullish, resistant and beat-up. It seems Kate Moss is needed now more than ever."